σεμίδαλις

Forms

σεμῐ́δᾱλῐς (semídālis) f (genitive σεμῐδᾱ́λῐος or σεμῐδᾱ́λεως); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is a loanword from the Near East, borrowed from Akkadian samīdu (“a kind of fine flour or groats”) or a related Semitic word,^[1][2][3] compared also with Classical Syriac ܣܡܝܕܐ (smīḏā, “fine flour”) and Arabic سميذ (samīḏ, “wheat semolina”).^[3][4][5] Beekes, Frisk and Chantraine count it as a certain Oriental loan;^[4][5][2] Rosół lists it as perhaps Semitic, and notes that the Greek extension ⟨-αλι-⟩ has no convincing explanation.^[3] Szemerényi assumed a Hittite intermediary,^[2] and Wiktionary explains the ending by the Hittite adjective suffix -alli-.^[1]

Latin simila (“finest flour”) is also borrowed from the East, or perhaps from Greek.^[2][5][6] Georgian სამინდალი (samindali, “wheat”) comes from the Greek word.^[5][1]

Ancient grammarians explained it from σμάω (smáō, “to wipe, cleanse”) and ἅλις (hális, “enough”), as flour “cleaned enough”, that is, ground very fine.^[7][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the 5th century BC, in the Hippocratic writings on diet and in the comic poet Hermippus, who lists fine flour among the goods that Phoenicia supplies.^[9][3][10]

Semantic evolution

It was the finest wheat flour, sifted from hard wheat,^[9][2] and bread made from it was called σεμιδαλίτης (semidalítēs) (in the Hippocratic writings and in papyri from the 3rd century BC).^[9][4] The Septuagint uses it 66 times, for the fine flour of a meal and above all of the offerings, chiefly translating Biblical Hebrew סֹלֶת (sōleṯ);^[11][12] in the Revelation it is among the merchandise of Babylon, with oil and grain.^[10][9] In the magical papyri figures are modelled from it.^[13]

Medieval vernacular Greek had σιμιδάλη (simidáli), meaning fine flour and also the fine bread made from it.^[14] Modern Greek σιμιγδάλι (simigdáli, “semolina”) comes from medieval σιμιγδάλι (simigdáli), from the diminutive σεμιδάλιον (semidálion), with the γ taken from αμύγδαλο (amýgdalo, “almond”).^[15][16] English semolina goes back through Italian to Latin simila, which Etymonline takes from the same Semitic source.^[17]

Timeline

• 5th century BC – The Hippocratic writings and Hermippus mention it.^[9][3][18]
• 5th–4th century BC – Aristophanes uses it in a fragment.^[9][18]
• 3rd century BC – Papyri record bread made of it.^[9]
• 1st century AD – The Book of Revelation lists it among the wares of Babylon.^[10][18]
• 1100–1669 – Vernacular Greek uses σιμιδάλη (simidáli) for fine flour and fine bread.^[14]
• 1797 – English takes semolina from Italian, a word of the same origin.^[17]
• Modern Greek – σιμιγδάλι (simigdáli) means semolina.^[15][16]

Meanings

Noun

1. The finest wheat flour, fine flour.^[9][10][2]
2. (Byzantine) Fine bread made from it.^[14]

Related words

• σεμιδαλίτης (semidalítēs)
• Latin simila
• English semolina

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Chantraine, Pierre (2009), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue grecque: histoire des mots, new ed. with a supplement (Chroniques d'étymologie grecque 1–10), Paris: Klincksieck
3. ^ a b c d e Rosół, Rafał (2013), Frühe semitische Lehnwörter im Griechischen, Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang
4. ^ a b c Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), Etymological Dictionary of Greek, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 10, Leiden; Boston: Brill
5. ^ a b c d Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
6. ^ Πάπυρος–Larousse–Britannica, Μέγα Λεξικό της Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, Athens: Πάπυρος
7. ^ Gaisford, Thomas, ed. (1848), Etymologicum Magnum, Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ Pseudo-Zonaras, Lexicon, ed. Johann August Heinrich Tittmann (1808), Iohannis Zonarae Lexicon, Leipzig: Crusius
9. ^ a b c d e f g h Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
10. ^ a b c d Bauer, Walter; Danker, Frederick W., et al. (2000), A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed., Chicago: University of Chicago Press
11. ^ Lust, Johan; Eynikel, Erik; Hauspie, Katrin (2003), Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint, rev. ed., Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft
12. ^ Abbott-Smith, G. (1922), A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark
13. ^ Muñoz Delgado, Luis (2001), Léxico de magia y religión en los papiros mágicos griegos, Madrid: CSIC
14. ^ a b c Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
15. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
16. ^ a b Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
17. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
18. ^ a b c Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge